Chapter 392: Leaving

"Correct."

Boren slowly lowered himself farther into his chair. "Which means I’m going to have to work."

Lyana gave him a look of disbelief. "What exactly did you think you were being taken there for?"

"I hadn’t gotten that far. I was still thinking about the restaurants."

Mina laughed openly while Gregor shook his head, and even Sage couldn’t help smiling.

Boren complained constantly, avoided paperwork whenever he could and somehow managed to make serious conversations ridiculous, but Sage knew exactly why he was taking him.

Boren had been part of the Adventurer Guild from its earliest days and understood the practical side of the organization better than almost anyone.

He knew how reception counters operated, how adventurers behaved, how missions were processed, what problems appeared when a branch suddenly received too many members, how staff needed to be organized and which rules looked excellent on paper but became troublesome when applied to actual people.

Sage could recruit administratorsin the Capital, but he couldn’t immediately replace years of practical experience.

If he was going to build a Kingdom Headquarters from nothing, Boren was one of the people he wanted beside him.

Mina was different.

She had remained beside Sage through much of the Guild’s growth, and he trusted her without needing to think about it. More importantly, Evergreen could not remain the limit of her world forever.

She was still developing as an adventurer, and eventually she needed to see stronger warriors, larger organizations, more dangerous dungeons and the broader Kingdom beyond the region where she had begun.

Sage had no intention of throwing her into danger unnecessarily, but keeping her permanently inside Evergreen because it was familiar would accomplish nothing either.

Gregor folded his arms once the laughter died down. "What about the rest of us? I’m not saying we all need to leave with you immediately, especially after everything you just said about Evergreen needing leadership, but are you planning to keep everyone here permanently?"

"No," Sage answered. "I’m planning the exact opposite. I’m going ahead first so the rest of you don’t have to walk blindly into whatever mess exists in the Capital."

He looked at all of them and continued."Pax is already establishing our intelligence network there. Once I arrive, I’ll meet him, understand the situation, find suitable land, establish the first foundation of the Kingdom Headquarters and recruit enough personnel to make the place functional. I also need to understand the Royal Family, the major Houses, the organizations already operating there and exactly how much resistance we’re going to face."

His gaze moved around the table as he continued. "Until that foundation exists, Evergreen needs its strongest and most experienced people here. I’m not going to appoint Leona and Caelista and then immediately take Valeria, Vanthrice, Gregor, Brutus, Caelis and Lyana away from them."

"That would defeat the entire purpose of creating a stable regional structure. You stay here, help them through the transition and makesure Evergreen doesn’t stumble because I left. Once the Capital Headquarters has enough footing, I’ll send word. After that, anyone I need there can follow."

Vanthrice nodded slowly. "A small group will also attract less attention."

"Exactly. Walking into the Capital with dozens of powerful adventurers would announce that we’re arriving as a faction before we’ve even purchased a building. I’d rather know where I’m standing first."

Valeria remained quiet throughout the explanation, although Sage noticed her eyes narrow briefly at the mention of the Capital.

He assumed she simply disliked crowded cities or politics, and there were already enough matters demanding his attention without questioning her about it.

He had no way of knowing that somewhere beyond Greyvale, other people were already waiting for the Adventurer Guild to make precisely this move.

Leona looked toward Sage after reviewing the transition schedule again. "So by the time you leave, you expect Caelista and meto be handling most regional decisions ourselves."

"Before I leave," Sage corrected. "During the final week, I want both of you effectively running Evergreen while I’m still here. If something goes wrong, I’ll be available. That’s much better than discovering the problem after I’m already hundreds of miles away."

Caelista nodded slowly. "That makes sense. Terrifying, but it makes sense."

"You’ll manage," Gregor said. "And if you don’t, there are enough of us here to stop the Guild from burning down."

Boren frowned. "That’s not especially reassuring."

"You aren’t staying, so your opinion doesn’t count."

Boren opened his mouth, thought about it and reluctantly nodded. "Fair."

For a while longer, the meeting continued as they discussed smaller matters surrounding the transition, but eventually there was nothing left that needed to be decided that day.

The date had been set. The leadership had been chosen. The people accompanying Sage had beennamed.

Everything else would be work carried out over the next month, and for the first time the Royal Capital no longer felt like a distant plan written somewhere on Sage’s list of future objectives.

Gregor remained seated for a moment after everyone began gathering their papers.

He looked toward Sage with an expression that carried none of his earlier amusement. "So this really is happening."

Sage glanced around the conference room before looking back at him. "It has to. Evergreen was only the first region."

The meeting finally ended, and one by one they left the conference room to return to their responsibilities.

Sage remained behind for a little longer before walking toward one of the upper-floor windows overlooking the Adventurer District.

The streets below were crowded with adventurers moving between shops, inns and the Guild Hall, while merchants called out to customers and the steady sound of hammers carried from the smithies.

Receptionists inside the Guild were processing missions by the hundreds, wagonswere arriving with supplies for distant branches, and behind the Guild Hall the Mana Cultivation Tower rose above the surrounding buildings as adventurers constantly entered and left its lower floors.

Sage rested one hand against the window frame and quietly looked across everything they had built.

One month.

After that, he would leave Greyvale behind and travel toward the largest city in the Kingdom, toward Pax and the intelligence network already taking root there, toward the future Kingdom Headquarters of the Adventurer Guild, and toward enemies he didn’t yet know were already waiting for him.